Is this the end of an era? Bennett's Broncos hammered by Dragons

The Dragons crushed the Broncos. That much was evident in their 48-18 demolition job at Suncorp Stadium. Expectation crushed them as well, according to Wayne Bennett, who admitted his side were simply unable to deliver when it mattered in 2018.

With their season now over and fresh debate certain to turn to Bennett's future at Red Hill, he said a combination of injuries and inexperience had resulted in a squad that was still learning how to win under pressuure. In other words, a team that was simply not ready to be a factor in finals.

Retiring star: An emotional Sam Thaiday after Sunday's elimination final in Brisbane.Credit:AAP

"The injury toll has its part with that, with key players out," Bennett said. "Then the expectation builds that they should play well, they should win this game... we’ve seen it all season.

"Our best performances have been against the best teams. Teams we thought we could beat, we lost our way. All week it’s been about us and how good we were going, which we were.

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"That was my biggest fear, that the expectation would rise its head again and choke us."

Choke was one word. Stampeded was another. With Tariq Sims having a three-try blinder for the Dragons and his brother Korbin having the most forgettable of nights in his final game for Brisbane, St George-Illawarra made a mockery of the pundits and set up a clash with South Sydney next Saturday night.

There were holes everywhere in the Broncos game and Korbin Sims became a popular target. But few had reason to hold their head high, one of them being Origin centre James Roberts, who made some especially poor defensive reads to undo some of his fine work this season.

With no Matt Gillett or Alex Glenn or Jayden Su'a, the Dragons were able to exploit the Broncos around the edges as guns like Tyson Frizell and Sims played starring roles. It was a clinic, plain and simple, also the loss of Gareth Widdop is likely to sting next weekend.

"We lost two of the best edge forwards in the game. One hasn’t played all season virtually and we educated a guy up to play that position, Jayden Su’a, and he’s been gone for the rest of the season," Bennett said.

"We were playing a guy there today that’s a middle forward (Tevita Pangai Jnr) and an 18-year-old (David Fifita). You’re going to get exposed in big games."

All eyes will now fall on the next move of the club's board, who will meet in coming weeks to decide whether Bennett will be offered an extension beyond 2019, which is his current wish.

If that doesn't eventuate, Bennett may decide to pursue options elsewhere, or simply see out his current deal before making his next move. Either way, some finality would see the club ramp up its efforts to secure a replacement for the six-time premiership winning mentor.

Bennett was reluctant to comment after the game, which was the last for the club's retiring forward Sam Thaiday, who was joined for a beer on the field by his team-mates for a long debrief.

"That’s not today’s conversation. This season has been tough on everybody, no tougher for me than anybody else. I’m not going to discuss that," Bennett said.

On the other hand, the coach was happy to argue the merits of the presence of former Broncos football operations boss Andrew Gee, who left the club four years ago amid investigations surrounding $300,000 that went missing from the League's Club's accounts.

He has still refused to speak to the NRL's Integrity Unit and the NRL was on Sunday night beginning investigations as to why he was suddenly sitting beside Bennett in the coaching box.

Bennett said Gee was simply a friend and there was no reason as to why he shouldn't have been allowed to be in the official area, which he would have accessed with a generic pass supplied to the club via the NRL.

"Because I invited him. It’s still a free country isn’t it? Am I right or wrong?" Bennett said.

"He’s a friend of mine, he can come and sit in the box any time he likes. I don’t have to tell the NRL who I’m bringing to the game. What’s wrong with you guys?"

The club will be asked to explain but it's unlikely that will be of great concern to Bennett. Should he remain in charge in 2019, he believes the pain of this season will be worth it and then some, especially with a host of young forwards getting unexpected NRL experience.